wind energy

by Lutz Weischer, WRI

Recently there have been some questions in the media (see Green Inc. and Washington Post articles) and in the U.S. Senate about stimulus grants for wind energy projects going to foreign countries. On March 3rd, a group of Senators called for the suspension of the renewables grant program until “Buy American” rules had been passed that made sure projects used American components and labor.

But there is more to that story than meets the eye.

Empirical evidence demonstrates that predictable support for wind power improves local manufacturing capacity and creates local jobs. Consistent support in the form of the stimulus and long term programs such as a Renewable Energy Standard will give investors the certainty they need to plan and create jobs in the United States.

The UK government is getting ready to reclaim lost ground in wind manufacturing, as well as some lost clout for itself, after last year's embarrassing decision by Danish turbine maker Vestas to close Britain's only wind turbine factory.

Vestas shut down its Isle of Wight onshore blade-making plant in July in the face of public anger to new wind farms. The company said it would be focusing on the American market instead.

But months later, a revival of the UK sector is under way from other wind giants, one that may give the nation a big presence in the offshore wind power manufacturing industry.

Wind farms don't just deliver carbon dioxide savings – new federal research confirms that turbines in rural areas can infuse millions of dollars into local schools and other public services.

In a study of wind power in Summit County, Utah, researchers found that developing the area's wind resource would deliver a significant economic boom: Operating a 130-megawatt installation, enough to power roughly 40,000 homes, would generate $1.6 million in property tax revenues for local schools each year. It would also lead to $390,000 in annual lease payments to landowners.

During construction, the site would generate about $73.3 million in total economic impacts for the entire state and create 658 jobs.

Power plants that burn wood and plant materials for electricity account for more than 50 percent of America's renewable energy. But that could change.

Federal tax credits that are keeping 100-plus "biomass" facilities afloat are set to expire at the end of 2009.

If the tax credits are not renewed, it will have "catastrophic consequences to our industry," said Bob Cleaves, president and CEO of the Biomass Power Association (BPS), during a news conference.

Who knew? Apparently not Congress. Which is why BPA has launched a $250,000 public relations campaign to raise the profile of biomass in Washington as an alternative to fossil fuels and help "level the playing field" with wind and solar this year.

The burgeoning wind industry in America's Upper Midwest could be at risk of shutting down if a new transmission policy by a local grid operator goes through, according to a pair of wind advocacy groups.

Even worse — the plan could put the nation's renewable energy goals in jeopardy.

The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) and Wind on the Wires (WOW) have filed a protest with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to stop a proposal by the Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator (MISO) — one that would dramatically change the way costs are distributed for new transmission lines.

Specifically, the plan would force energy generators to bear a 90 percent share of new transmission costs in the region, wind farm developers included.

Currently, generators and utilities split the price paid, 50-50.

Several U.S. coastal states are in a heated race to build America's first offshore wind farm. Is landlocked Michigan throwing its hat in the ring, too?

The Michigan Great Lakes Wind Council is recommending a change in state law that would permit placement of wind turbines six miles or more off its freshwater shores.

The proposal is just a first step. But if regulatory hurdles are swiftly resolved, it may help Michigan become the first state to generate power from the heart of its wind-blessed Great Lakes. 

The council, an advisory body within the state Department of Energy, was established by Governor Jennifer Granholm through executive order in February 2009. Its charge was to look at the possibility of putting turbines in the lakes and identify ways to get them "prudently sited." In Governor Granholm's words:

"The availability, consistency, and velocity of wind in the Great Lakes make their waters uniquely attractive to wind energy developers seeking to build offshore wind energy systems - but we want to make sure we are prudent in this process of approval."

A full report from the council is due to the governor by September 1, 2009. Its leaked recommendations so far suggest a need for urgent action.

Wind and geothermal power have generated a lot of buzz. Government research and development funding to boost them? Not so much.

That's unfortunate, because these clean energy technologies have exhibited far higher cost efficiency than fossil fuels, a new report from the NYU Stern School of Business says.

"Renewable energy sources (particularly wind and geothermal) have been significantly underfunded relative to their potential payoffs," the authors write.

The potential payoffs would be huge, with major climatic impacts, energy security and little upfront costs, especially for geothermal. In fact, for a total investment of about $3 billion in new spending, clean electricity from geothermal sources could be as cheap as coal in a couple of years, says NYU Stern Professor Melissa Schilling, a co-author of the report.

"The regressions in the paper suggest that geothermal could be cheaper than fossil fuels with approximately $3.3 billion in investment, so if fossil fuel R&D were redirected to geothermal, it is conceivable that geothermal could be cheaper than fossil fuels in just over three years — faster if fossil fuel costs go up," Schilling told SolveClimate.

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Solar power's potential in India is off the charts -- a thousand times greater than the likely electricity demand in the sun-blessed nation by 2015.

Wind could produce a whopping 65,000 megawatts -- about half of India's present total installed capacity. And the potential of available biomass, energy from plants, is 30,000 megawatts -- ten times the nation's current nuclear capacity.

But there's a problem of mismanagement at India's Ministry of New and Renewable Energy that's crippling clean energy development, according to a new report from the London-based Commonwealth Business Council (CBC) and the Indian Institute of Management (IIM).

And the result is that vital clean technology dollars are going elsewhere.

The Indo-Asian News Service sums it up:

China's first large-scale offshore wind turbine has been installed in the East China Sea, the People's Daily and the Shangahi Daily are reporting.

The 300-foot, 400-ton turbine is one of 34 that will be installed at the Shanghai Donghai Bridge Offshore Wind Farm Project and is expected to be operational by May 2010.

When that project starts up, China will join a small club of European countries with working offshore wind farms -- Denmark, Ireland, The Netherlands, Sweden and the UK.

The U.S., whose offshore wind potential exceeds its entire electricity demand, has none -- though 2,000 megawatts of projects have been proposed, and their development appears likely under the Obama administration.

More wind power was installed in the EU than any other electricity-generating technology last year, with capacity jumping 15 percent to 64,949 megawatts, says the European Wind Energy Association (AWEA).

It was a first for Europe -- it was also a tad bittersweet.

The news came as it emerged that America, who has been on a record-shattering wind run, has eclipsed Germany as the world's biggest wind power producer for the first time, after boosting capacity by 50 percent last year, reports the Global Wind Energy Council. On top of that, China, who doubled its capacity for the fourth year in a row, is expected to oust Germany to take the number two spot by 2010.